Interactive Brokers vs Pepperstone

Interactive Brokers vs Pepperstone Comparison Table 2024
Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Review 4.3 Interactive Brokers is #1 in our CFD broker rankings.	Review 4.8
Traders from US accepted	Traders from US not accepted See available CFD brokers
Interactive Brokers (IBKR) is a premier brokerage, providing access to 150 markets in 33 countries, along with a suite of comprehensive investment services. With over 40 years of experience, this Nasdaq-listed firm adheres to stringent regulations by the SEC, FCA, CIRO, and SFC, amongst others, and is one of the most trusted brokers for trading around the globe.	Established in Australia in 2010, Pepperstone is a top-rated forex and CFD broker with over 400,000 clients worldwide. It offers access to 1,300+ instruments on leading platforms MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView, maintaining low, transparent fees. Pepperstone is also regulated by trusted authorities like the FCA, ASIC, and CySEC, ensuring a secure environment for day traders at all levels.
	CFDs and FX are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 81.8% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.
Customer Reviews
4 Based on 2 Interactive Brokers customer reviews	3.8 Based on 4 Pepperstone customer reviews
Comment by Reviewer
"Interactive Brokers is one of the best brokers for advanced day traders, providing powerful charting platforms, real-time data, and customizable layouts, notably through the new IBKR Desktop application. Its superb pricing and advanced order options also make it highly attractive for day traders, while its diverse range of equities is still among the best in the industry."	"Pepperstone stands out as a top choice for day trading, offering razor-sharp spreads, ultra-fast execution, and advanced charting platforms for experienced traders. New traders are also welcomed with no minimum deposit, extensive educational resources, and exceptional 24/7 support."
Pros
IBKR is one of the most respected and trusted brokerages and is regulated by top-tier authorities, so you can have confidence in the integrity and security of your trading account. The TWS platform has clearly been built for intermediate and advanced traders and comes with over 100 order types and a reliable real-time market data feed that rarely goes offline. The new IBKR Desktop platform takes the best of TWS while adding bespoke tools like Option Lattice and Screeners with MultiSort to create a genuinely impressive trading experience for day traders at every level. There's a vast library of free or paid third-party research subscriptions catering to all types of traders, plus you can enjoy commission reimbursements from IBKR if you subscribe to Toggle AI. IBKR continues to deliver unmatched access to global stocks with tens of thousands of equities available from 100+ market centres in 24 countries, most recently the Saudi Stock Exchange. While primarily geared towards experienced traders, IBKR has made moves to broaden its appeal in recent years, reducing its minimum deposit from $10,000 to $0. With low commissions, tight spreads and a transparent fee structure, IBKR delivers a cost-effective environment for short-term traders.	Pepperstone boasts impressive execution speeds, averaging around 30ms, facilitating fast order processing and execution that’s ideal for day trading. There’s support for a range of industry-leading charting platforms including MT4, MT5, TradingView, and cTrader, catering to various short-term trading styles, including algo trading. Pepperstone emerges as a low-cost broker, especially for serious day traders with spreads from 0.0 in the Razor account and rebates of 25%+ through the Active Trader program. Award-winning customer support is available via telephone, email or live chat with response times of <5 minutes during testing. Now offering spread betting through TradingView, Pepperstone provides a seamless, tax-efficient trading experience with advanced analysis tools.
Cons
TWS’s learning curve is steep, and beginners may find it challenging to navigate the platform and understand all the features. Plus500's web platform is much better suited to new traders. IBKR provides a wide range of research tools, but their distribution across trading platforms and the web-based 'Account Management' page lacks consistency, leading to a confusing user experience. Support can be slow and frustrating based on tests, so you might find it challenging to reach customer service representatives promptly or encounter delays in resolving issues. You can only have one active session per account, so you can’t have your desktop program and mobile app running simultaneously, making for a sometimes frustrating trading experience.	Pepperstone’s demo accounts are active for only 30 days, which may not be not long enough to familiarize yourself with the different platforms and test trading strategies. Pepperstone does not support cTrader Copy, a popular copy trading feature built into the excellent cTrader platform and available at alternatives like IC Markets, though it has introduced an intuitive copy trading app. Despite enhancements to its range of markets, crypto offerings are relatively limited compared to other brokers such as eToro, with no option to invest in real coins.
Awards
	Best Forex Broker - DayTrading.com 2024 Best Overall Broker - DayTrading.com 2023 Best Trading App - DayTrading.com 2022 Best Forex Broker - DayTrading.com 2021 Best MT4 Broker - Good Money Guide 2023 #1 Overall Client Satisfaction - UK Investment Trends 2022 #1 Value for Money - UK Investment Trends 2022 #1 Quality of Trade Execution - UK Investment Trends 2022 #1 Ease of Platform Navigation - UK Investment Trends 2022 #1 Charting - UK Investment Trends 2022
Instruments
Stocks, Options, Futures, Forex, Funds, Bonds, ETFs, Mutual Funds, CFDs, Cryptocurrencies	CFDs, Forex, Currency Indices, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Crypto, Spread Betting
Demo Account
Yes	Yes
Minimum Deposit
$0	$0
Trading Platforms
Trader Workstation (TWS) IBKR Desktop GlobalTrader Mobile Client Portal AlgoTrader OmniTrader eSignal TradingCentral	MT4 MT5 cTrader TradingView AutoChartist DupliTrade
Payment Methods
ACH Transfer Automated Customer Account Transfer Service Cheque Debit Card TransferWise Wire Transfer	BPAY Credit Card Debit Card Mastercard Neteller PayPal PIX Payment POLi Skrill UnionPay Visa Wire Transfer
Minimum Trade
$100	0.01 Lots
Regulator
FCA, SEC, FINRA, CFTC, CBI, CIRO, SFC, MAS, MNB, FINMA, AFM	FCA, ASIC, CySEC, DFSA, CMA, BaFin, SCB
Margin Trading
Yes	Yes
Margin Rate
1.55 - 2.59%
STP Account
Yes	Yes
ECN Account
No	Yes
DMA Account
Yes	Yes
MAM Account
Yes	Yes
PAMM Account
No	No
LAMM Account
No	No
Demat Account
No	No
AI / Machine Learning
Yes	Yes
Robo Advisor
Yes	No
Negative Balance Protection
Yes	Yes
Market Maker
No	No
P2P Trading
No	No
Spot Trading
Yes	Yes
Mobile Apps
iOS & Android	iOS & Android
App Review
The IBKR Mobile app, available on both iOS and Android devices, makes your phone a powerful gateway to your IBKR accounts, offering you the freedom to keep an eye on portfolios, initiate trades, and dive into real-time quotes and charts, all while managing your account activities on the fly. This app stands out for its intuitive design, making it especially welcoming for those just starting their trading journey, providing a smoother and more accessible experience than the more complex TWS platform.	Pepperstone excels for its excellent integration with the MT4, MT5, cTrader, and TradingView apps, making it a standout option for day traders familiar with these leading third-party trading solutions. These platforms deliver a stable and reliable mobile trading experience, enhanced by Pepperstone’s almost unrivalled execution speeds and wide range of asset classes.
Android App Rating
4.5	4.1
iOS App Rating
4.3	4.4
Auto Trading
Capitalise.ai & TWS API	Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader
Copy Trading
No	Yes
Copy Trading Platform
	Pepperstone facilitates the replication of experienced traders' strategies through MetaTrader Signals, DupliTrade and now its own copy trading app (available in certain regions) through a partnership with Pelican Trading, providing access to thousands of experienced traders and personalized risk parameters. On the downside, it lacks support for cTrader Copy which may deter users familiar with the terminal from Spotware.
Social Trading
No	No
Trade Signals
	Yes (Via Chartist Software)
VPS Hosting
No	Yes
Tournaments
No	No
Demo Competitions
No	No
Ethical Investing
Yes	No
Custodial Account
No	No
Guaranteed Stop Loss
No	No
Inactivity Fee
$0	$0
Islamic Account
No	Yes
Account Currencies
USD EUR GBP CAD AUD INR JPY SEK NOK DKK CHF AED HUF	USD EUR GBP CAD AUD NZD JPY CHF HKD SGD
Stock Exchanges
Borsa Italiana CAC 40 Index France Chicago Mercantile Exchange Euronext IBEX 35 Japan Exchange Group Korean Stock Exchange London Metal Exchange London Stock Exchange Nasdaq Nasdaq Nordic & Baltics New York Stock Exchange Russell 2000 Shenzhen Stock Exchange Tadawul Toronto Stock Exchange	Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) CAC 40 Index France DAX GER 40 Index Deutsche Boerse Dow Jones Euronext FTSE UK Index Hang Seng Hong Kong Stock Exchange IBEX 35 Japan Exchange Group Korean Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange Nasdaq New York Stock Exchange Russell 2000 S&P 500 Shanghai Stock Exchange SIX Swiss Exchange Shenzhen Stock Exchange Toronto Stock Exchange Taiwan Stock Exchange
Commodities
Aluminium Gold Lead Lean Hogs Natural Gas Precious Metals Soybeans Zinc	Aluminium Cocoa Coffee Copper Corn Cotton Gasoline Gold Livestock Natural Gas Nickel Oil Orange Juice Palladium Platinum Precious Metals Silver Soybeans Sugar Wheat Zinc
CFD Trading
Over 8,000 CFDs are offered on a vast array of instruments, encompassing stocks, indices, forex, and commodities. Moreover, the TWS platform lends itself to seasoned day traders, offering a comprehensive selection of over 100 order types and algorithms, alongside premium market data sourced from reputable sources such as Reuters and Dow Jones.	Pepperstone maintains its position as one of the fastest and most dependable CFD brokers during our latest round of testing. With execution speeds averaging around 30ms and an outstanding fill rate of 99.90%, the broker ensures a seamless trading experience without requotes or dealing desk interference. It also provides ample trading opportunities across over 1,300 assets.
Leverage
1:50	1:30 (Retail), 1:500 (Pro)
FTSE Spread
0.005% (£1 Min)	1.0
GBPUSD Spread
0.08-0.20 bps x trade value	0.4
Oil Spread
0.25-0.85	2.5
Stocks Spread
0.003	0.02
Forex Trading
IBKR presents an extensive range of over 100 major, minor, and exotic forex pairs, surpassing the offerings of nearly all leading alternatives, though not CMC Markets. Forex trading occurs over multiple platforms and boasts institutional-grade spreads starting from 0.1 pips and 20 complex order types, including brackets, scale, and one-cancels-all (OCA) orders.	Pepperstone offers ultra-competitive forex spreads averaging 0.12 pips on EUR/USD in the Razor account, accompanied by a diverse portfolio comprising 100+ currency pairs - an extensive selection surpassing most competitors. Additionally, Pepperstone distinguishes itself by offering three currency indices (USDX, EURX, JPYX), not commonly found among alternative platforms. Pepperstone has now won our annual 'Best Forex Broker' award twice.
Forex App
	Pepperstone deliver their MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader and TradingView platforms across both Android and iOS. With faster processing times, the ability to hedge your positions, advanced pending orders and more tools and indicators to take your trading to the next level – they are a powerful addition for mobile traders.
GBPUSD Spread
0.08-0.20 bps x trade value	0.4
EURUSD Spread
0.08-0.20 bps x trade value	0.1
EURGBP Spread
0.08-0.20 bps x trade value	0.4
Assets
100+	100+
Currency Indices
	USD EUR JPY
Cryptocurrency
IBKR lets you purchase and hold Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin at competitive commission rates and without needing a crypto wallet. Additionally, there is a range of other diverse assets to explore, such as crypto indices like the NYSE Bitcoin Index, as well as futures contracts like the BAKKT Bitcoin Futures.	Pepperstone continues to prove itself as one of the most trusted crypto brokers. Although its selection of digital tokens is average, you can trade popular cryptos like Bitcoin and altcoins like Ripple with up to 1:10 leverage, while its crypto indices provide a holistic view of the digital currency markets not found on most day trading platforms.
Spread
0.12%-0.18%	BTC 30, ETH 0
Coins
BTC LTC ETH XRP	BCH BTC ETH LTC DASH ADA LINK DOGE EOS DOT XRP XLM XTZ UNI BNB
Crypto Lending
No	No
Crypto Mining
No	No
Crypto Staking
No	No
Auto Market Maker
No	No

Review	Review
	CFDs and FX are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 81.8% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.